Committee stage of EU (Croatian Accession and Irish Protocol) Bill

No amendments were made to the Bill. The Bill passed third reading and will now be considered by the House of Lords.

• Watch Parliament TV: Remaining stages of the European Union (Croatian Accession and Irish Protocol) Bill
• Read Commons Hansard: Remaining stages of the European Union (Croatian Accession and Irish Protocol) Bill

Summary of the European Union (Croatian Accession and Irish Protocol) Bill

Croatia is expected to join the EU in July 2013. Before that can happen, all existing EU Member States must ratify Croatia’s accession treaty.

This Bill would allow the UK to do so (there will not be a referendum) and to restrict the right of Croatians to work in the UK after accession.

The Bill would also cover the Protocol to the Lisbon Treaty put forward by the Irish Government (giving guarantees over its concerns about the right to life, family and education, taxation and military neutrality) although this is not part of the accession treaty. 

Following the Bill

Keep up to date with all the proceedings and documentation on the European Union (Croatian Accession and Irish Protocol) Bill and find out how a Bill becomes an Act of Parliament.

• Bills before Parliament 2012-13: European Union (Croatian Accession and Irish Protocol) Bill
• About Parliament: Passage of a Bill

House of Commons Library analysis

The House of Commons Library produces briefing papers to inform MPs of key issues. The Library has published a briefing paper for second reading.

• Read Commons Library briefing paper: European Union (Croatian Accession and Irish Protocol) Bill
• Read current Parliamentary material in Topics: EU enlargement

Committee of the Whole House

Committee stage is where detailed examination of the Bill takes place.

A minority of Bills are dealt with by a Committee of the whole House. This means consideration of that Bill takes place on the floor of the House of Commons, where all MPs can take part, rather than in a Public Bill Committee which would normally be made up of 16 to 20 MPs.

The Bill was referred to a Committee of the whole House on 6 November 2012.

Amendments

When MPs are debating or examining Bills they can propose changes or amendments to change some of the details, and can debate and vote on them in the House or in Committee.

Amendments tabled by MPs, together with other Bill documents, such as the full text of the Bill and explanatory notes, are available online.

• Bill documents - European Union (Croatian Accession and Irish Protocol) Bill 2012-13

Committees of the whole House are chaired by the Chairman, or the Deputy Chairmen, of Ways and Means rather than the Speaker. The power of selection and grouping of amendments lies with the Chairman of Ways and Means. Some amendments may not be selected for debate.

What happens after Committee stage?

If a Bill has been considered on the floor of the House it will not have a report stage unless in exceptional circumstances.